Economy

• England had a population of about 2.2 million people and only one major city, London with 50,000 people.
• The main Industries at the time were farming and the cloth trade. Smaller ones such as ship building, metal work, paper making, tin, coal and lead existed but on a smaller scale.
• Henry VII didn't have a specific economic policy, aiming to maximise revenue, but parliament often passes acts as a result of the private lobbying of merchants.
• The cloth trade increased at this time because sheep farming was more profitable, but enclosure worsened as a result.
• The cloth trade made up about 90% of English exports and under Henry there was a 60% increase.
• Some cloth towns such as Lavenham prospered, but some older ones such as Lincoln suffered as a result of the growing popularity of new towns.
• A large proportion of the exports happened through the Merchant Adventurers, enforcing London's commercial dominance. However they didn't gain any privileges held by the Hanseatic League. This was reinforced by treaties in 1474 and 1504 as Henry wanted to prevent the Hanseatic League from supporting Yorkists.
• Other industries existed in England but other countries were usually superior in those areas, such as Germany and Bohemia which were better at metallurgy or the Spanish, Dutch and Portugese who were better at ship-building.
• The other industries were very small and needed no capital investment.
• Some examples include the tin mining in Cornwall or the Iron from Sussex and Kent which had blast furnaces as early as 1496.
• There was a small export of coal to Germany and the Netherlands.
• In terms of trade agreements, there was no consistency. Henry prioritised revenue but would sometimes forgo it to protect his dynasty, shown by the Trade Embargo with Burgundy.
• The Intercursus Magnus in 1496 solved the Trade embargo and trade was restored fully.
• Henry attempted to exploit Philips weakness to enforce the Intercursus Malus in 1506 but was unsuccessful.
• Trading restrictions with France were removed in 1486 and then again in the Treaty of Etaples in 1492.
• Navigation Acts in 1485 and 1489 meant that only English ships and ships of the country that trade was happening with could carry English goods back and forth.
• In terms of exploration, the exclusion from Iceland fishing grounds had Bristol fishers desperate to find new areas. John Cabot discovered Newfoundland in 1497 and never returned from the next Voyage. His son Sebastian received sponsorship from Henry VII to find the north-western passage to Asia. Exploration attempts died out with Henry VII.
• Evidence for prosperity and depression is scarce, but what we do have suggests that other than the temporary rise in prices during the 1480s, wages and prices remained steady. There was a decline in export prices in 1490s potentially implying a reduction in farming profitability. Overall labourers and craftsmen were better off in the 1490s than at any other point in the Tudor Era.